Instinct
by happycamper123
Summary: I kill, not because i want to but because they'll kill my family if i don't. Hi i'm Kim and... i'm an eraser.
1. The hunt

Maximum Ride: Instincts

* * *

Chapter 1: The hunt

* * *

A/N: Hi, I thought I'd try something new. I'm having a bit of a mental block on my other story but I'll be back to it soon. I'm trying a different style of writing so please give some opinions and tips. Thank you and enjoy!

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is in or related to the book: _Maximum Ride_ but the new ideas including my characters are my own.

* * *

I woke up early that morning, the morning this all started. My mother and father were still in bed and my little brother was sitting at the table wolfing down cereal as usual, extra sugar as usual. I'm Kimberley, but you can call me Kim, everyone else does and I'm 17. I'm just like most people, I like TV and books, good music and I really enjoy watching the sun rise. But there's one difference... I kill, not because I want to but because I have to. They say they'll hurt my family if I don't. They? Well by that I mean those sick scientists at the school. It all started a couple of years ago, I hung around with a weird lot of people but there was this one guy, Mark. He told me he knew a good way to make some extra money. All I had to do was let some scientists do experiments on me, Mark said it was to find cures for skin rashes. He'd had it done and it hadn't hurt him. I thought I'd give it a try, ya know? No harm and extra cash.

It was only when I got there, to the "Institute for Higher Living" that I discovered their plans for me, it was too late by thenand, here I am. An eraser, when I kill I form a muzzle and claws and I'm always super strong. But I'd trade it all to be normal again, that's my story and here I am, watching the sun rise and wishing I were someone else.

Suddenly I feel a sharp pain in my head, I don't flinch though. That's just my brothers telling me there's work to do, someone must have escaped… again. I give a sigh and go back in through the glass doors, I grab my coat and wave to my little brother as I pass him, now on his second bowl.

"I'm going out Jamie, tell mum and dad I'll be back for dinner"

"See ya later sis" he replies between mouthfuls of sugary cereal.

I run through the trees, you see, we live on the edge of a forest, anyway I'm on my way to see Mark. He's the leader of our pack and I get there using the tracking instincts they gave me, hearing every sound in the forest, even the birds in the trees .

"Hey Mark, what's the story this time?Are we still chasing that damn flock?" I ask him.

Mark looks up at me, he doesn't look good. Mark's usually slick black hair is lank and hanging from his head, his shirt is torn and he has purple circles under his eyes. This is not my Mark.

"What the hell's happening Mark?"

"It's… it's… experiment…" he says, with a glazed look in his eyes.

Sheila butts in, "It's experiment 94C, it escaped about an hour ago"

"Oh my God! You mean Xander?" I can't believe this, it was under Mark's watch that he escaped.

Mark may no longer have a family.

"Mark are you?"

"Let's just go!" he says, and runs into the trees, I just hope he knows what he's doing.

We follow Mark through the forest, getting faster and faster, I smell everything for miles around. We are the best hunters ever created, it's just a shame it has to be this way. I look around me and see Kyle changing, his powerful muzzle-like jaw is forming and his teeth are growing. He becomes less human everyday, just like me but he has been an eraser a lot longer. That's a side effect of our animal connections, the more we kill, the less human-like we are. Kyle runs on all fours when we get faster. He's the only one but we all want to join him, it's just that we can still fight the urge to go totally animal.

Mark stops abruptly.

" I can smell it, it's near" Mark says, a sick smile on his face. That's the animal, killer instinct taking over, I can feel it happening to me too. Against my control I feel a need to kill, rip out life but we can't, this time they want it alive.

"No Mark, don't think that way, Xander's too important" I warn him. He's not himself, it's clear in his eyes that he may not control himself when it comes to the chance of a kill. I shoot Sheila, Kyle and Simone a "Watch him" look before we all begin sniffing through the undergrowth. Strange I know but it's what we do and that's it.

Suddenly I see his tracks, in my mind.

"Wait, guys, I think I've got his scent"

* * *

Xander runs until he can run no more. He has escaped but has no idea what to do next. 

In front of him there is a ten foot high fence, this is no major obstacle. Without his power restraints this is no problem at all. Xander pushes himself right up to the fence, he concentrates, closes his eyes and takes a step forward.

When he opens his eyeshe finds himself on the other side.

* * *

_Oooh! im gettin right into this writing malarky! please let me know what you think A.S.A.P! thanx and criticism is welcomed_


	2. Nightmare

Chapter 2

* * *

Nightmare

* * *

A/N: Please read this with an open mind. I've never tried an OC/OC before but please review anyway and tell me how I could do it better. Also, this chapter does get a bit far-fetched but stay with me. It gets more normal in the next chap. That's the plan anyway. Thanx and keep on readin'!

* * *

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

* * *

My name is Xander, I am 15 and have just escaped from the "Institute for Higher Living" more commonly known as the _School_. Call it what you like, it doesn't matter it doesn't make it sound any better. They experiment on innocent children and it doesn't usually work out. If you are a failed experiment they "put you to sleep", at least that's what they like to call murder. 

Here I am, almost free, I've just walked straight through a fence and am looking quite undignified in my loose- fitting grey sweater and plain grey trousers. When I say walked through a fence I don't mean like a ghost or something. I have lots of… firepower, literally. Somehow, they have given me the ability to generate intense heat through my hands, enough to melt anything, solid steel fences for example. So that's me, here I am, standing outside, mid-afternoon in my jim-jams waiting to be shot. Hey, it could be worse… somehow.

"It's been over an hour now and we still haven't found him" Says Sheila, she's frustrated now, we all are. When we smell something we _have_ to find it, it's in our nature so it's pretty annoying when we lose the "prey".

"Maybe he's escaped properly, through the fence?" Kyle suggests.

" I hope not, for all our sakes" Says Mark. We have no idea what Xander is capable of, even he doesn't know. We do know one thing though, Xander wasn't created for speeding up evolution like the rest of the experiments.

"He's a weapon isn't he." I ask. But we all know the answer, he's like an A-bomb. A human weapon, with the kind of power he has he could destroy cities, countries. And he doesn't even know it.

Suddenly, Mark looks up, we follow his gaze to find he is looking South. The direction of the nearestouter limit fence. Mark has better hearing than the rest of us.

"What did you hear?" we ask.

"Something snapped, he's broken through the fence" Mark looks at me, I see fear in his eyes. Our gaze lingers, then he runs and we follow. We are the pack and Mark is the leader.

The pack knows this is a tense situation, they may destroy us if we lose Xander. Or worse destroy our families. We sprint after Mark, moving as one. Kyle once again is on all fours. Before I know it I find myself joining him, my legs are changing, they become wolf-like. As I run I feel my knees turning, my legs become hind-legs, my arms become front-legs. Paws and all. I stop in terror and everyone else stops and turns to look at me. I try to speak to them but all that comes out are muffled whines.

"Oh my God!" Simone, Kyle, Sheila and Mark stare down at me.

"Is that you Kim?" asks Mark, a tear in his eye.

I can do nothing but whine to him. This must be a nightmare, it can't be real. It's physically impossible for us to change completely.

I sit down, my heart is heavy and I let out a whine, then I howl.

"Calm down Kim" Kyle demands.

"There must be a way out of this, change back the way you do when you grow a muzzle, Try!" Mark tells me.

I concentrate, close my eyes and see my human form in my head. My legs begin to change and my paws become hands again.

I open my eyes and amenveloped by relief.

"What the hell happened?" Says Sheila.

"I don't know, I d… don't" I can only stutter.I am human again, but for how long?

Mark rushes to me as I stand up, I stumble slightly but he catches me.

"I can't handle this Mark" I whisper to him.

"It's okay, you'll get through it, we all will" he replies and then something strange happens. We hug, then he kisses me.

"I thought I'd lost you"

* * *

_Please let me know if that was terrible! im not sure if i went too far or not. ah well i had fun anyway. R &R thanx_


	3. It ends tonight

Chapter 3

* * *

It ends tonight

* * *

A/N. hey ho, new chapter and this one has less weirdness in it but still a little romance, ooh! Tell me what ya think A.S.A.P thanx

* * *

Disclaimer: still don't own non-original stuff.

* * *

I break away from Mark and neither of us quite know what to do. This is awkward, we've always been close friends but now we're even closer.

"Mark… what just" I begin but he turns away from me.

"Lets carry on, we're almost on him" He says coolly and begins the trail again.

Okay… so I'm still here in my grey apparel wondering what to do. So I do what's been working pretty well so far, I run. I stop suddenly when I hear a howl. It sounds like a wolf, in pain. So I turn on my heels and head towards the source of the noise.

We follow Mark, ignoring what happened… for now. When I sense something, well, it's… odd to say the least.

"Stop!" I demand and everyone turns to me.

"What is it?" Asks Sheila

"We don't have time for this!"

"No, this is weird" I reply, "He's… coming towards us, his scent's getting stronger and stronger"

Before anyone can remark we are faced with a problem. The "prey" we have been chasing after is standing in front of us, unafraid. We've lost our only advantage, surprising him.

"Uh… hello" Says Kyle, unsure how to handle this situation, ya know, with the prey coming to us and all.

"Oh, for goodness sake, get him!" Mark cries and launches himself at Xander.

The others join him, they pin Xander down, and hit him and tear at his flesh, they won't stop, can't stop.

"No!" I scream, startling them, they let Xander go but he's not moving. I just hope to God he's only unconscious. "Stop it! They want him alive, remember?" As they listen to these words the fire fades from their eyes. The idea of making anyone at the Institute angry seems to sober even the cruellest killer.

They step aside as I walk towards the limp form of Xander, I kneel beside him and put my fingers to his neck. "He's still alive" I say. "Mark, help me lift him"

Mark rushes over and grabs Xander's legs, I hold him by the shoulders and we lift him on to our backs. Suddenly, I have a crazy idea. "Tell them to stay here" I ask Mark. "What?" "Just do it!"

Slightly bewildered but still trusting Mark co-operates.

"You guys stay here, we'll be back soon, ok? If we're not back soon, go back and tell them you lost us, you couldn't stop us, something overpowered you… anything. So long as they know this isn't your fault"

"uh… okay" It's obvious they're not happy but Mark is the leader and they obey him at ALL times.

"Follow me" I whisper to Mark. And we stumble awkwardly into the woods, the sky already darkening above us.

Half an hour later we reach a small clearing and set Xander down. I take off my jacket and place his head gently on to the rough material. There is a small camp fire, judging by the smell it has been out for days. The only other distinguishing features are dirt tracks, possibly made by a car or van and not far from me, sits one confused, angry looking eraser.

"So, what the hell were u thinking? Huh?" Says Mark, his back to me.

"We have to save him." There, I've said it, that's how I feel. I know it isn't right and its completely against the rules, I know my family is at stake but I'm willing to risk it all to save one life.

"What?" Mark stares intently at me, horrified.

"You know what they'll do if they ever find out" Mark is frightened but willing, for some insane reason he still trusts me.

"This has to end tonight Mark, all this killing, torture. We have to expose them once and for all" I can't believe I'm saying this but to my surprise Mark comes closer to me, our faces are inches apart and I can feel his breath on my lips.

"We can beat them" He says and with his greeny-grey eyes he sees inside me, reaches into my soul.

"Together, we'll destroy them, I trust you" Mark is even closer now, he puts his arms around my waist and I wait for the kiss.

"I trust you too" I whisper before our lips touch once again.

* * *

_please, please, please let me know what u think! thanx_


End file.
